Liverpool FC revert to old plans to speed up search for a new stadium

Liverpool Football Club is set to return to plans first submitted for planning permission nine years ago for its new £300 million stadium.

According to reports today, the club has ditched recent plans for a new stadium to revert to those first proposed by architects AFL for a 60,000 seater stadium at Stanley Park a decade ago.

The AFL plans were scrapped and replaced by those drawn up by American firm HKS after former chairmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett took over the club five years ago.

New owner John W Henry and the Fenway Sports Group are now set to revert to tweaking the original AFL plans, which have already been approved by Liverpool City Council, meaning if finace is found to build the new stadium they could proceed with little delay.

The club has been encouraged to consider groundshare proposals with neighbours Everton FC, however supporters and owners of both clubs remain reluctant to consider the idea.

Plans for the regeneration of North Liverpool were proposed last month by fans of the city’s two Premier League clubs, to find businesses and stakeholders to back the development of a ‘Football Quarter’ as a new tourist destination.

The concept is designed to confirm the city’s global sporting image as a destination and encourage the redevelopment of the area in line with the North Liverpool Strategic Regeneration Framework.

It aims to attract educational, community, recreational, leisure and retail facilities to an area which has modern stadia at Anfield and Goodison (Everton FC) as its hub, all serviced by a sustainable transport infrastructure.

The new prospectus is aimed at attracting developers to more than 40 acres of land to contribute to the sustainable regeneration of the area.

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